23 November 2008

Busy Sunday

It's not below freezing this morning. That's what had been predicted. Instead, it's about 2.5ºC, which is around 35ºF. I think the temperature might still be dropping.

I just turned on the Chaîne Météo on the télé, and they are saying we should expect wind and a mixture of rain and snow during the day. I need to go to the market in Noyers-sur-Cher to get some food for this evening. Our friends are arriving today, and they might be hungry when they get here, after traveling by plane and train all day.

Going to the market as early as possible sounds like the best plan, since the rain and snow will be starting soon. At the outdoor market you are, of course, standing outdoors in the weather if you have to wait in line. Some stalls have an awning you can stand under, but not all, and if the lines are long, you are, as it were, hosed.

For tomorrow's dinner, I'm going to cook a guinea hen — une pintade — stuffed with sausage meat and herbs and marinated in port wine. I need to get sausage meat, and I think I'll get ground poultry instead of ground pork. I think the vollailler — the poultry seller — over in Noyers, who specializes in pâtés and sausages made from turkey, chicken, and duck, will have what I need.

Alongside the guinea hen, I'm going to have stuffed cabbage leaves. I saved the leaves from the cabbage I cooked last weekend and I have them in the freezer. I'll double or even triple the recipe for stuffing that I'm using for the guinea hen and stuff the cabbage leaves with that. I think I'll add some chicken liver to that part of the stuffing.

Time to take Callie out for her walk. Then off to the market. Then more general house-cleaning and preparations for our friends' arrival. Tonight we'll drive over to Tour to pick them up.

Speaking of driving, I got that mud shield re-attached under the motor of the Peugeot on Wednesday. The mechanic called it a plaque de propreté, a "cleanliness plaque." Walt and I had been discussing what it might be called in French. A déflecteur d'humidité, or plaque de protection, or bouclier anti-boue? Who knew? That's one of the problems living here, even if you speak French. Technical terms are still impossible. Make you feel like an idiot.

Oh, and the mechanic charged me 9.00€ for the job. Not bad.

At the same time, I noticed a nice little Renault 6 for sale, sitting on the mechanic's lot. He wants 1500€ for it. It must be 25 years old. More about that as I think about whether it would be good for us to have a second car. A collector's car, une voiture de collection, in this case.

6 comments:

  1. thought I sent you a comment earlier but don't see it!!

    haven't had a guinea hen yet - any great difference from a regular chicken - probably more dark meat and tastier?

    love you blog and the depth you and your partner put into your posts about food and sites etc

    we enjoyed a week in the Loire 3 yrs ago at an interesting gite at the Ch de la Vauguyon near Chinon - would love to return for more chateaus etc..

    thanks Dale

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  2. The best part about a 25-year old car is that you and Walt can repair it yourselves. No computers in those babies.

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  3. It's darn cold here too and we got our first snow on the Aubrac mountains.

    In fact, come to think of it, it might be the second...

    A dreadful November weatherwise. Fortunately there has been other good news to warm the heart!

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  4. Dale, thanks for your comment. Our friend Cheryl has a sister named Dale? Is that you?

    Chris, us, repair a car!?! Tu n'es pas sérieuse. That lack of mechanical skills might be what keeps me from buying the R6, even though I would love to have an old French car like that. Pictures TK.

    Betty, all you say is true. We didn't get any snow today, but we got a lot of wind and rain. All we have is hope right now though. Ken

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  5. I've been reading my mom's copy of Susan Hermann Loomis' book, On Rue Tatin lately, and was just in a chapter where she was talking about all of the different stalls in their town's market... then, I read your post about going to the market. It's all so fresh and yummy and FRENCH!

    Have you read this book? I'm enjoying it, and it's so similar to many things you've written about (her experience of moving to France and buying a house to be renovated, etc.) After a few chapters, I also realized that the French Farmhouse Cookbook that she wrote and refers to frequently is actually one that I have!

    Have a great time with your friends and a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm going to try Walt's style of cooking les choux de Bruxelles Monday.

    Judy

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